


A Feather For The Devil

by Aeshna_cyanea



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Drama, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Canonical Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 21:32:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10999413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeshna_cyanea/pseuds/Aeshna_cyanea
Summary: A little alternative scenario for the season 01 finale: Amenadiel dies before Maze can use the feather to save him.





	A Feather For The Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Parts of the dialogue during the confrontation in the hangar are taken straight from the episode.

Something divine. The words echoed through Maze's mind as she ran to her room. She had exactly the right thing, if only she could retrieve it quickly enough. Amenadiel's condition was deteriorating rapidly. She knew the telltale signs, the changes in breathing, heart rate and skin tone that all signaled the approach of death.  
  
Slamming open her bedroom door, she practically flew to her hiding place and pulled out the little silver box that contained the one feather that was all that remained of Lucifer's wings. Checking quickly that it was still inside, she raced back to the living room.  
  
One glance was enough to tell her that she was too late. Maze had seen enough dead bodies to know that the angel had not merely lost consciousness. Nevertheless, she went over to the motionless form on the couch and checked for any signs of life, however faint. There were none.  
  
For just a moment, she allowed her feelings to overwhelm her, closing her eyes and letting her shoulders slump. She didn't understand why this affected her, why she was having all these stupid, human emotions. Hell, she didn't even know what she was feeling. Failure, disappointment, hurt, relief, guilt, anger, and other emotions, too vague and unfamiliar to name coursed through her. She focused on the anger. It was familiar. She knew how to deal with it, how to channel it into useful action. The human who had done this would pay. She would make sure of that.  
  
Slipping the box with the feather into the inside pocket of her jacket, Maze turned to go. Casting a last glance at the body on the couch, she hesitated. It was just a mass of rotting flesh. Amenadiel himself was gone, either back to Heaven to face his father, or to Hell. Nothing of him was left but the empty shell.  
  
Still, it would be a bad idea to leave the corpse here. As recent events had proven, you never knew who might suddenly show up. With a sigh, Maze retrieved her phone, scrolling quickly through her list of contacts until she found the one she was looking for. A brief call ensured that someone would arrive shortly to pick up the body and dispose of it discretely. It wasn't the first time, and she knew the people she'd called were highly professional.  
  
Maze wished she could leave at once, but she knew it was better to stay until the corpse was safely on its way to disposal. With the police suspecting Lucifer of having murdered that preacher, the risk that someone would show up here and stumble upon the body was simply too great. She decided to use the wait time to make sure she was well-equipped for the hunt.  
  
Thankfully, the retrieval team arrived quickly. After exchanging a few words with them, Maze accompanied them and their burden down to the underground car park, where a nondescript grey van was waiting. The moment the body was safely stowed inside, she took off, intent on catching up with her prey.  
  
****  
  
When she finally tracked the human down to the aircraft hangar, Maze was absolutely furious. That piece of shit had kidnapped Detective Decker's offspring. If he had harmed one hair on her friend's head, Hell's eternal tortures would be nothing compared to what Maze would do to him.  
  
She didn't need to see Lucifer's Corvette parked outside the hangar to know her Lord had managed to get there before her. She could sense his presence nearby. Damn. Maze had hoped to be able to beat him and his pet detective here and take care of the problem on her own. Their presence only complicated matters. She had no doubt that the detective was here, too.  
  
Suppressing a growl, Maze silently slipped through the side door, all her senses extended, searching for any signs of the other four beings in the building. Particularly for one being. Maybe there was still a chance for her to get to her target and deal with him before the other two got involved.  
  
Just as she was carefully rounding the corner of some tall shelves, a shot rang out, dashing all her hopes. She knew immediately that Lucifer was hurt. She was close enough to feel it. Throwing caution to the wind, she ran towards the place where the sound had come from.  
  
She found her Lord lying on the ground in a rapidly spreading pool of blood. One glance was enough to tell her that he had taken the bullet high in the stomach. An ugly injury, and in his current vulnerable state most likely a fatal one. He was alone, no trace of the shooter, the detective, or the kid anywhere. Maze dismissed them from her mind. The only thing that mattered now was Lucifer.  
  
He was still conscious, and clearly in pain. So far, he had not noticed her arrival yet. As she rushed to his side, she heard him begin to speak.  
  
"Dad,-"  
  
Maze's eyes widened in shock, and without hesitation she interrupted him before he could say another word.  
  
"Lucifer!"  
  
She practically threw herself down at his side as he stared at her in surprise and relief.  
  
"Maze. Oh thank Hell you are here. Listen. The detective. I need you to-" Once again she interrupted him.  
  
"No. She can look after herself. You are injured. You need my help."  
  
He shook his head, wincing when the movement caused him additional pain. There was an annoyed look on his face as he replied.  
  
"I am dying, Maze. There is nothing you can do to save me. If you want to help me, then protect the detective."  
  
Maze scowled at the idiotic devil before her.  
  
"No. It's my duty to protect you, not her. And you are wrong. There is something I can do to save you."  
  
With that, she reached into her pocket, removed the silver box, flicked the lid open and took out the feather. Lucifer stared at it in open-mouthed astonishment. "How-?"  
  
"I'll tell you later. Now what do I need to do with this?"  
  
He moved his hand away from the wound. "Here. Put it right here."  
  
Maze quickly ripped open his shirt and carefully laid the feather down on top of the bleeding hole in his stomach. As soon as she released it, Lucifer took hold of her hand and placed it right on top of the feather, pressing down on it with his own. For a moment, nothing happened. And then, just as she was opening her mouth to ask what more they needed to do, she felt the feather grow warm. As Maze stared down at their hands, golden-white light began radiating from beneath them, quickly growing in intensity until she was forced to look away and then close her eyes altogether.  
  
She could still feel it, though. The energy, the power. By now, the warmth beneath her hand had become intense enough to be almost painful. It seeped into her, a burning, tingling feeling that crept up her arm and then spread through her whole body, filling her until she was certain that she would burst. She knew instinctively that what she was feeling was only the merest fraction of the feather's full power, the leakage that was escaping from where it was absorbed by Lucifer's body. It made her wonder what it felt like for him.  
  
And then, as suddenly as if someone had flipped a switch, it ended. The warmth and light were gone, and for just a moment Maze felt utterly empty.  
  
She opened her eyes and looked down at Lucifer. He was lying still, his eyes closed, his face relaxed with no signs of pain on it anymore. For an instant, fear shot through her, but then she noticed the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the steady pulse of the vein in his neck.  
  
Her gaze drifted down to where her hand was still lying on his stomach, covered by his own. Carefully, she lifted both hands away. The wound was gone completely, the skin once again smooth and unbroken, no trace left of the injury except the smears of drying blood.  
  
When she stroked the skin gently, needing the physical contact to confirm what she was seeing, the body beneath her hand twitched. Looking up, she saw Lucifer slowly opening his eyes. His gaze caught hers, and he gave her a soft smile that made her smile gently in return. Neither of them spoke a word, and yet everything that needed to be said was exchanged in that single look.  
  
After a few long moments, Lucifer broke eye contact and looked down at himself. His smile widened into a grin. Maze followed his gaze and realized that she was still stroking his skin. She quickly pulled her hand away, earning an amused chuckle.  
  
Thankfully, before Lucifer could make any comment, a quiet sound from another part of the hangar drew his attention. His eyes burned with hellish fire and the grin on his face turned feral. The sight made Maze bare her teeth in a similar expression. She stood up quickly and then reached down and offered her Lord a hand, effortlessly pulling him to his feet. He gave her a quick nod of thanks before stalking off purposefully. Maze easily fell into step with him, walking by his side as they set out to hunt their prey together.  
  
It took them no time at all to find Malcolm, just as he was about to shoot at the detective. Lucifer stopped him with a well-placed fist to the head, which knocked the human back against some shelves.  
  
"Hello Malcy."  
  
Just as Maze was about to step in and disarm him, four shots rang out in quick succession, hitting the scumbag right in the chest and knocking him down. She followed Lucifer's gaze as he turned, and saw Decker standing there, gun in hand, still aiming at the man. Damnit. Of course she had to interrupt and spoil all the fun.  
  
Turning her attention back to the human on the floor, Maze saw that he was still alive, though it wouldn't be long until he died. As Lucifer stepped closer, the guy focused on him and spoke.  
  
"It doesn't matter. I've got your coin. I'll be back."  
  
He started groping around in his pockets, clearly looking for something, growing frantic when he couldn't find it. Maze could see the fear and panic starting to fill him as Lucifer chuckled and held up his hand, holding the coin in his fingers.  
  
"You're looking for this?"  
  
Shock and horror spread across the man's face at the sight. "How?"  
  
Lucifer chuckled again. "You forgot, Malcy, that our deal was that you would get the coin in exchange for not shooting me. But you did shoot me. And so, my pal, the deal is null and void, and this little beauty is once again mine."  
  
The smile her Lord gave the human could only be called diabolical. The man lunged up desperately, trying to reach for the coin. Maze quickly put a boot on his chest and slammed him back down, breaking a few ribs in the process. Then she pulled out her demon knife - the same one this piece of shit had used on Amenadiel -, leaned down, and with a few quick strokes carved a sigil into his right cheek. Just as she finished the last cut, the light in the man's eyes faded as death claimed him.  
  
Lucifer had crouched down beside the guy, staring into his eyes all the while, drinking in his despair. He gave a hum of approval when he saw what she had done. Carved with a hell-forged blade, the sigil would remain visible on the damned soul as it returned to Hell, marking it out for special attention by any demon who encountered it. Maze would have loved to personally orchestrate this soul's eternal suffering, but since it seemed highly unlikely that she would get to return to Hell anytime soon, this was the best she could do.  
  
Behind them, Detective Decker called out for her offspring. "Trixie! Come out, honey!"  
  
The child answered immediately, appearing from behind some large airplane part. "Mommy, is it over?"  
  
Maze frowned at that. She wondered if the child had been hiding there all the time. If so, it was extremely likely that she had witnessed both Lucifer getting shot, and Maze using the feather to heal him. That could be a problem.  
  
Decker reassured the girl that everything was indeed over, and the spawn ran to her mother and threw herself into her arms. The detective embraced the kid tightly, telling her how happy she was that the child was ok.  
  
As Lucifer slowly approached the two humans, Maze followed him, keeping a wary eye on the detective, and especially the girl.  
  
"Excuse me if I don't join the group hug."  
  
This comment drew the attention of mother and daughter to the man standing beside them, and they ended their hug and turned towards him. Maze's eyes narrowed as she noted that the child took a step away from the devil and stared at him with wide eyes. The little human was skittish, wary. It confirmed Maze's suspicions. The spawn had seen something, probably everything. When the girl's gaze briefly flickered to her before she lowered her head, the demon saw apprehension and a small amount of fear there. Damn. She had definitely seen everything. They would have to find a way of dealing with that.  
  
Her attention was drawn back to the detective when she rose from her crouch and spoke. "I thought he killed you."  
  
"Oh, he almost did."  
  
Lucifer turned slightly and gestured at her. "But thanks to Maze, here, I got better."  
  
This made Decker stare at her. Maze shrugged nonchalantly.  
  
"Just doing my job."  
  
"Oh no, my darling. This rather went above and beyond your job. In fact, I would say that you did something pretty extraordinary there."  
  
Hope surged through Maze at his words. Could he really mean... She turned to him and found him looking at her with a soft, fond smile. When she made eye contact, he gave her a slow, deliberate nod. Yes, he did mean it exactly like she hoped. Slate wiped clean.  
  
The detective drew their attention back to herself by giving a disbelieving hum. Maze fought down the urge to roll her eyes at the woman. Really, with all the things she had seen Lucifer do, she still didn't believe. Didn't want to believe, Maze was certain.  
  
"You promised you'd let me go alone."  
  
"True." Lucifer chuckled. "But I didn't say anything about following."  
  
Before the detective could reply, he continued, "Now, I suggest that we get out of here, Detective. I could really do with a shower and a change of clothes. Besides -," He quickly glanced down at the girl standing next to them, "isn't it past her bedtime?"  
  
Of course, Decker wasn't going to go along with that suggestion. The woman just had to be difficult. After one quick look at her daughter, she turned back to Lucifer with a familiar expression of determination and disapproval on her face.  
  
"We can't just leave. I have to call this in."  
  
"Detective, I would strongly advice you not to do that."  
  
That earned the devil a glare of righteous indignation. He rolled his eyes, sighed, and elaborated.  
  
"If you call in your colleagues now, there will be a lot of awkward questions neither of us will particularly like to answer. Need I remind you of the money you took to pay for your daughter's freedom? The evidence money? Do you really want to have to explain that?"  
  
"What do you suppose we do then, Lucifer? We can't just leave." She waved a hand around. "This isn't just going to go away because we don't like it!"  
  
Maze smirked as Lucifer rolled his eyes at his pet human. "No, it will take a few phone calls and a rather large sum of money to make this go away. I suggest you leave that to Maze and me. It's better if you don't know the details. Take your offspring home and look after her while we deal with this. Oh, and leave the bag with the money."  
  
For a moment, it had looked as if Decker was finally going to be sensible and accept Lucifer's suggestion. But at that last part, she balked again.  
  
"I can't leave the money here. It has to go back to the precinct. You said it yourself, it is evidence. I must return it."  
  
Once again Lucifer sighed in exasperation. "No, you must not return it. We want to keep your colleagues from finding out you took it, remember? If you absolutely insist on it, then I give you my word that it will be returned."  
  
"You promise?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And what about Malcolm?"  
  
"What about him? He is dead. His soul is back in Hell where it belongs, and I can guarantee that he is getting all the punishment he deserves there."  
  
The detective shot Lucifer an irritated look.  
  
"I meant, what about his body."  
  
Lucifer shrugged. "It will disappear, never to be found."  
  
"What? No, you can't do that. What about the case, all the killings he has done?"  
  
"I told you, Detective. His soul is in Hell and receiving his just punishment for all he has done. What does it matter if his corpse is never found? It won't change anything for his victims."  
  
By now, the devil was getting seriously annoyed. Maze wondered if she would have to step in and forcibly take the detective away from here.  
  
"But what about his relatives, and the relatives of the victims. They need to know what happened to him. They deserve closure."  
  
"Very well, Detective. I hope you appreciate how difficult this will make our work. After all, it wouldn't do for the body to be found with any evidence that leads back to me or you. The bullets you shot into him, for example."  
  
Decker had the good grace to look uncomfortable at that, and finally backed down. Lucifer took a step forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Trust me, Detective. Let me take care of this, while you take care of your offspring."  
  
The woman nodded mutely, and then took the girl's hand and walked over to her car. She helped the child inside and made sure she was seated and strapped in securely. Then she went to the trunk, removed the bag with the money, and set it down on the ground. Casting one last look at Lucifer, she got into the car and drove off without a further word.  
  
Both the devil and his demon heaved identical sighs of relief the moment she was gone, which promptly made them laugh. Once they had composed themselves again, Lucifer surveyed the scene, and then went and picked up the bag with the money.  
  
"Maze, my darling, can I leave this-," he waved his hand vaguely at the corpse and the bloodstain from his injury, "in your capable hands?"  
  
"Sure. What are you going to do?"  
  
"I'll return the money to the precinct, and make certain that nobody will know the detective ever took it away."  
  
Maze nodded in agreement. "Ok. See you back at LUX?"  
  
"Of course." He stepped up to her, cupped her face in one hand, and gave her a soft kiss. "See you later, my darling."  
  
With that, he turned and left the hangar. Maze looked after him for a moment, pleasantly surprised by his open show of affection. Then she pulled out her phone to make another call to the disposal team.  
  
****  
  
When Maze returned to the penthouse, Lucifer was already there. He had showered and was now wearing only his dressing gown as he searched through the shattered remains of his private bar for anything still fit to drink. Maze cleared her throat and held up a bottle of single malt she had taken from downstairs.  
  
"Thought we could do with something to drink."  
  
"Excellent thinking, Maze!"  
  
He smiled broadly at her, picked up two glasses, and motioned over to the couch. Once they were settled comfortably next to each other and had taken the first sip of their drinks, Lucifer got down to business.  
  
"Everything at the hangar taken care of?"  
  
"Yes. All cleaned up without any traces left behind."  
  
Maze carefully placed four bullets on the low glass table in front of them.  
  
"The body will be found in a suitable location sometime in the next few days. By then, determining the time and exact cause of death will be difficult, but there will be more than enough for a positive identification."  
  
Lucifer smiled at her.  
  
"Well done, Maze." Then he grew serious. "Now, what happened to my brother?"  
  
"He's back in Heaven, facing your dad. Or else he's in Hell, giving a warm welcome to that human piece of shit." She looked away from him. "I brought him back here, but he died before I could do anything."  
  
He looked at her searchingly for a few moments before asking his next question. "By 'do anything', do you mean you would have used the feather to save him?"  
  
She nodded, not meeting his gaze. Lucifer smiled wryly.  
  
"Well, I must admit that, for purely selfish reasons, I am rather glad that you didn't get the chance to do that."  
  
The statement provoked a snort from his demon. "So am I, given how things turned out at the hangar."  
  
Lucifer leaned over and gently nudged her with his shoulder. "Thank you again for that, Maze. You saved my life, and helped me save the detective and her spawn. I'm curious though. Where did you get the feather?"  
  
She turned to look at him. "I found it on the beach when I cleaned up there after you burned your wings. It was lying there, half-buried in the sand, completely undamaged. It was the only thing left, the rest were just ashes and some fragments of bone."    
   
The devil remained quiet for a few moments.  
  
"I can see why you didn't tell me about it back then. I would have burned it, too. Lucky for me that you kept it in secret. Still, it's a rather big coincidence that just that one feather managed to escape unscathed. Makes me wonder what dad is up to now."  
  
Both the devil and his demon scowled at that thought.  
  
"He can't have wanted me to use it to save you, can he? After all, he wants you back in Hell, and without it you would be there now."  
  
"You're right. He can't have wanted that." A grin spread over Lucifer's face. "Which means that whatever he had planned, you, my darling, managed to foil it. Well done!"  
  
Maze accepted the praise with a grin of her own, and they sat there in companionable silence for a little while. Eventually, Lucifer had another question.  
  
"So, what did you do with my brother's body?"  
  
"I called in the usual people to dispose of it discretely."  
  
"Good." He paused for a moment, then continued. "I wonder if he will be back."  
  
Once again, Maze snorted. "Probably much sooner than we'd like."  
  
"True. But hopefully, it'll at least a little while. I must admit that after the last few days, I could do with a bit of peace and quiet."  
  
Maze turned towards him, a serious look on her face. "I'm not sure we'll get any."  
  
Lucifer looked at her in concern, prompting her to explain.  
  
"The detective's offspring. She saw what happened in that hangar tonight, you getting shot, and me saving you."  
  
"You're sure of that?"  
  
"Given the skittish way she acted around you, and the apprehension and fear in her eyes when she looked at me? Pretty sure, yeah."  
  
Maze lowered her gaze at the memory. It hurt to think of the girl being afraid of her. She mentally scolded herself for caring about what a little human maggot was thinking of her, but the truth was that the kid was the first friend she had made, and that meant quite a lot to her. And while they had only seen each other that one time, the spawn had somehow gotten hold of the club's phone number and called to talk with her several times, and they had gotten on well. And now she had most likely lost her friend.  
  
A sigh from Lucifer brought her attention back to him, and she found him looking at her with sympathy shining in his eyes.  
  
"You like the little critter, don't you?"  
  
Maze nodded. "She's a friend, sort of."  
  
Lucifer wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.  
  
"Then we can only hope that she will come around eventually. She seems to be a better class of critter than the average human spawn, and doesn't appear to have absorbed the usual prejudices about the devil yet. Maybe it was only the shock of everything that happened, and once she has had time to think she will realize that we have never done anything to harm her."  
  
"I hope so. But if not-"  
  
"If not, we'll deal with that when it comes to it." He gave a short, mirthless laugh. "At least we can be reasonably certain that her mother won't believe her if she tells her what she saw."  
  
"Yeah. Your pet human appears to be pretty deep in denial."  
  
Lucifer nodded soberly. "She doesn't want to believe that I am who I say I am. No matter how many times I show her my abilities, she always finds a way to explain them away, or just ignores what she sees. Still, perhaps in time she will come to accept the truth."  
  
Privately, Maze doubted that. She didn't ask Lucifer why he didn't force the issue by showing the Detective his other face. She knew better than most that it was not simply a physical thing. There was a spiritual or mental impact to it, too, and while her Lord could control the strength of it to a large extent, he could not suppress it completely. Given the obvious fact that he had feelings for the woman, he never would do anything deliberately that would scare and hurt her.  
  
Trying to drag her mind away from thoughts of Lucifer and his pet human, Maze leaned back slightly and studied the man beside her. He looked alright, no signs of any lingering pain anywhere on his face. Still, she wondered if there were any non-obvious after-effects of the injury and the healing.  
  
Noticing her scrutiny, Lucifer smirked slightly and arched an eyebrow at her. Maze remained serious.  
  
"How are you feeling? Are you really completely alright?"  
  
The smirk on his face softened into a gentle smile. "I'm fine, Maze. Nothing left from my little brush with death. Well, nothing bad at least. That feather had rather more than enough power to heal all the damage, and the surplus is still sloshing around in me, all warm and tingling. Makes me feel a bit restless, twitchy, and like I'm going to burst out of my skin at any moment."  
  
Maze's lips twitched at that. "Yeah, that's what it felt for me, too."  
  
Lucifer stared at her in surprise.  
  
"What?! When?"  
  
"When we used the feather on you. I caught some of it, felt it seep into me, through my hand, up my arm and then into my whole body. This intense, almost burning, tingling warmth. Thought I would burst, but then it was just gone, all at once."  
  
"That shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have affected you. Are you alright? It didn't hurt you, did it?"  
  
He was clearly concerned. Maze hastened to reassure him.  
  
"I'm alright. It didn't hurt me. Like I said, it was gone immediately when the feather finished healing you. And I'm pretty sure I only caught a tiny fraction of the energy, just a little bit of what was leaking out."  
  
Lucifer relaxed and sighed in relief at that.  
  
"Good, that's good. I don't know what effects divine energy would have on a demon, and it's probably better if we never find out."  
  
Maze agreed with that. Having that energy seep into her had not exactly been a pleasant experience. It hadn't actually hurt, but she still had no desire to ever repeat it.  
  
"Well, I expect that the energy in me will settle down or dissipate eventually. And until then-," he gave her a good-natured leer, "Would you care to help me work off some of it, my darling?"  
  
His demon chuckled. "Always. With pleasure."  
  
Lucifer stood up, pulled her to her feet and into his arms, and kissed her passionately. Then he picked her up, making his demon laugh in delight as he carried her into his bedroom. Once there, he eagerly helped her get rid of her clothes, and then proceeded to demonstrate to her just how alright he was.  
  
Eventually, they fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this came to me when I watched the scene where Maze heals Amenadiel. I found it strange that Maze would have the little silver box with the feather just sitting on the table in Lucifer's living room, where he could stumble across it at any moment. So I started wondering what would have happened if she had had to fetch it first, and this is the result.
> 
> I'm aware that I left a few things open there which are practically begging for a sequel, but I don't know yet if I will ever get around to writing it.


End file.
